sydney-grayson:
Sydney usually left Rusty at home when she went to work at the café. A habit that was super hard to fall into because she had become so used to taking him literally everywhere she went. He hardly ever left her side from before enough as it was. At least everywhere that was socially acceptable to bring a dog that wasn’t a service animal. But now, with everything that has happened…
Going anywhere without him was almost unthinkable. It took time. But she got there. Granted, she still took him everywhere. Just not the café.
So you could imagine the panic she felt once the weather got so bad, seemingly out of nowhere. She itched to run home to go get her dog, and she was foolishly considering braving the high winds and the pelting rain to go out and get him. She even started heading outside, barely making it out the door before being pulled back into the building, far from the door. “I gotta go get my dog,” she said, shaking whoever had grabbed her.
“Honey, you’re safety right now is more important than going out to find your dog.” That was debatable. “I’m sure the pooch is going to be fine. Let’s worry about the people in here, m’kay?”
Sydney bit down at her bottom lip, staring out the door for a moment before relenting. “Alright.” It was then she saw a familiar face rushing towards the café. Ray. She hadn’t seen him since first meeting him at the bench. She was quick to approach him.
“Hey, you alright? You’re lookin’ a little damp there,” she said with a tight smile. “The backroom would probably be the safest for us. Some people have already started heading back there.” She walked back towards the door, not that close, just to make sure no one else was outside. There was another pause to run out and go for Rusty.. When she saw no one else, she started towards the back, motioning for Ray to follow. “Come. I don’t think we have towels, but there might be some in the storeroom.”
“A lil’ chilly,” Ray admitted, looking down at his shirt. He wanted to take it off to avoid getting sick, but it felt indecent to start stripping in a room full of strangers. He focused for a second, trying to get his teeth to stop chattering now that he was out of the cold ran. It was partially successful, and Ray crossed his arms over his chest to try to generate some warmth for his torso.
He followed Sydney back, away from the storms and windows, to the back room of the Common Grounds. The supply closets were a bit more filled than they were at the Hard Times, but still nowhere near what their capacity was. Ray could see huge gaps in the shelves where missing items were never refilled. He scanned the room, looking for anything bigger than a washcloth to help him dry off.
Ray wanted to ask where’s Rusty? but from the look on Sydney’s face, he felt like that would be ill advised. Every time he had seen her around town, she was always with her four-legged companion. “You doin’ okay? That storm caught on quick. I hope it ain’t a hurricane.” The fact that he wasn’t here... well that probably wasn’t something Sydney wanted to be reminded of.












